from uncertain to essential, Adrien Rabiot was the conductor of the France team against Austria

The Blues midfielder, who had not played since May 20 due to muscle pain, reassured and assured against the Austrians on Monday evening.

The “Duke” reigned supreme over his midfield kingdom against Austria. Preserved due to calf muscle pain during the preparation matches, Adrien Rabiot was fully reassured for the victorious entry of the Blues (1-0) in the Euro, Monday June 17. Associated with N’Golo Kanté and Antoine Griezmann in midfield, the Juventus Turin player ensured the balance of the France team and established himself as an essential element of Didier Deschamps’ eleven.

Under the eye of journalists and curious onlookers in Paderborn during training open entirely to the public and the press on Thursday, Adrien Rabiot had already made a strong impression during opposition on a small surface. A small ankle scare during the last training session the day before this first clash could have cast doubt on his ability to play a full match against Austria, but the midfielder showed that he was in good shape.

The one who has changed dimension since the 2022 World Cup has sometimes disgusted the Austrians by defensively compensating for the offensive rides of Theo Hernandez, to replace William Saliba and Dayot Upamecano. “I like to play with him, when I go up, he covers me”, declared the left-back at a press conference during the week. Marcel Sabitzer had the bitter experience of this, seeing himself dispossessed of the ball by an excellent, powerful return from the former Parisian, while he went on the counter just before the break (44th). “We need players like that, who don’t give up, and he helped us a lot as usual”underlined William Saliba after the narrow success of the Blues.

But Adrien Rabiot didn’t just have a defensive influence. He is also at the origin of the Blues’ first major opportunity, on the counter-attack, by launching Kylian Mbappé who then missed his shot at the near post (8th). He was still in charge of a counterattack on which he intelligently found Antoine Griezmann, eliminating a player and delivering a precise pass, at the right tempo.

A little lacking in rhythm to finish the match, Adrien Rabiot was replaced twenty minutes from the end of the game, but Antoine Griezmann and especially N’Golo Kanté took over. “I didn’t have 90 minutes in my legs, but what I did, I think I did well”he was satisfied in front of journalists.

Didier Deschamps gave him good points. “Adrien is made for that (projecting himself), but he has the ability to make efforts in the other direction. He has this volume of play to go back and forth. The men in the midfield have that strength With the work of the two outside attackers in periods when we did not have the ball, it made it possible to have a compact team and to defend well., greeted Didier Deschamps at the end of the game. Monday evening more than ever, the period when Adrien Rabiot put himself at odds with the French team by refusing to be a reserve for the 2018 World Cup, seems far away.